English
tail
Tail comes from Proto-Germanic *taglą ‘hair, fiber’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to tear, fray, shred’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-‘to tear, fray, shred’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*doḱ-‘hair of the tail’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*taglą‘hair, fiber’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*taglreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tæġel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tail
- Englishearliest quotation 1499tail
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-‘to tear, fray, shred’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*doḱ-‘hair of the tail’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*taglą‘hair, fiber’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*taglreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tæġel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tail
- Englishearliest quotation 1499tail
Earliest quotation: 1499, John Skelton: “By Goddis sydes, syns I her thyder broughte, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to tear, fray, shred’
doctor, document, decent, dignity, doctrine, decoration, decor, paradox, dogma, indignation, disdain, fonda, doctrinal, dodo, indignant, dainty, docile, décor, dox, docent, deign, digne, dignitary, 54 more
Today it means
noun The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to their posterior and near the anus or cloaca.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- / tail